A sad capybara

-Ratchet concluded that Optimus probably just needed a break from leading and all the hero stuff. He had been putting himself into a lot of work recently — helping Detroit's citizens and all that. 

-Optimus wasn’t satisfied with the answer. Something in his mind told him that there was more to it. But since the scans didn’t find anything, he decided to give it a try. 

-He was not really used to taking breaks or having free time on his servos, but with Sari’s help and her childlike coercion, he spent a day watching some human shows with her or tried activities that required little energy. 

-However, despite the few days of break, his symptoms did not go away. On the contrary, his symptoms seemed to be getting stronger. 

-The fatigue began to leave him exhausted. His need to refuel also grew. Sometimes he could drink an entire canister of energon without noticing. The heaviness in his chest also grew, now feeling like there was a heavy ball inside his chest.

-He couldn’t even wield his axe properly during fights. His movements became sluggish, and it felt like moving burned more energy than it should.

-His team began to take notice and become worried.

-There was also a strange incident with Grimlock. The dinobot was causing chaos again, so Optimus and his team moved to engage him. During the fight, Grimlock was about to attack Optimus, but then the dinobot suddenly stopped and began intensely sniffing the bot. 

-This baffled everyone who happened to see it.

-Grimlock then began acting very strangely. The dinobot began following Optimus around, saying stuff about how he needed to be protected while mildly insulting the bot for being incapable of doing it himself. He also growled others away if they got too close. 

-None of the bots could explain why the dinobot was acting that way, not even Prowl. 

-The ninja bot could only conclude that Grimlock knew something about Optimus’s strange condition. 

-So, after managing to get away from the dinobot, Optimus went to Ratchet once more. 

- The medic scanned the bot once more, but the only abnormalities that appeared were Optimus’s unusually low energy output and increased energon input around the Prime's spark chamber.

-Ratchet told Optimus to continue resting while he went deeper into diagnostics, thinking the problem might be there. 

-The team stood around their leader. Grimlock was still strangely hovering around Optimus. Bumblebee and Bulkhead said that maybe Optimus was stressed and needed a long vacation. Optimus shook his helm and said that there was something else involved. 

-Prowl did his ninja thing and revealed that there was a change in Optimus’s spark, like there was a second hum. That provided no clarity to the mystery.

-Sari then walked over and asked what was going on.

-After telling Sari about Grimlock’s strange behaviour and Optimus’s condition, she makes the following remark. 

“Sheesh. Sounds like you’re expecting or something.”

-Optimus questioned how the humans’ procreation process had to do with his condition. Sari explained that he had similar symptoms to human women when they had a baby in their tummy, and that animals can sometimes sense it with their instincts, so maybe that’s why Grimlock was acting the way he was. 

-Ratchet immediately brushed it off. But after a few seconds, something clicked in his mind, and he left to check on something. 

-This left the team confused. 

-The team then gets alerted by a Decepticon attack. Optimus immediately led his team forward. Grimlock, of course, followed.

-Arriving at the scene, the team finds Blitzwing causing havoc. They engaged the con. Optimus barked orders and activated his axe.

-However, Grimlock suddenly blocked his way and prevented him from joining the fight, saying that he was too weak to join. This frustrated the Prime, especially when the dinobot refused to help either. 

-So, Optimus was forced to give guidance behind the dinobot. 

-His team worked together well enough to fend Blitzwing off, but the triple changer was still stronger than them. 

-Optimus suddenly began to feel strange. His frame began to feel hot from the inside and tremble, forcing him to kneel down painfully. His spark felt like it was bounding against his chest.

-This both confused and distressed him. What was happening?

-When Blitzwing noticed this, he threw the other bots away and immediately charged to attack. Blitzwing's personality, Random, cackled about the Prime leaving himself open.

-Thankfully, Grimlock finally decided to intervene and tail-slammed Blitzwing down before the con could touch Optimus. The dinobot then decided to fight the con, keeping him away.

-Sari quickly ran up to Optimus, worried and asking if he needed her key. Suddenly, Optimus’s chest involuntarily opened. There was a bright flash of light, and then something ejected itself into Optimus’s servos. It was like a small metal bean that steamed from heat. 

-Optimus exhaled in relief, all the pain and heaviness gone. 

-After Grimlock managed to chase Blitzwing away, the team quickly came to Optimus, who was holding the small metal thing as it cooled off. 

-Before anyone could question what it was, you, the metal bean, opened two bright optics. You yawned and then stared at the bots. Sari and the team stared back at you in utter bewilderment.

“Uhm… Optimus. I think you just gave birth.” Sari said in disbelief. 

-The team helped Optimus back to base, even Grimlock, who simply refused to leave because of you, the bean that looked like a small cybertronian.

-When they got there, Ratchet declared that he now knew what was bothering Optimus. He then saw the team helping a tired Optimus, you in Optimus's servos, and Grimlock still hovering over the Prime, looking at you with a wagging tail.

“Yeah, doc bot. We kinda figured it.” Sari said. 

-After helping Optimus to sit down, Ratchet explained that Optimus’s strange symptoms came from a cybertronian carrying progress, which was a rare way for new cybertronians to be born. 

- You were called a sparkling, a small baby-like cybertronian born from a sparkbond between two conjuxes. It was a rare and nearly sacred phenomenon. It was common during the days before the Great War and when the Allspark still existed on Cybertron.

-After the Allspark was banished from Cybertron, sparkling births declined drastically until they nearly became a myth. Nowadays, only two or three sparklings could be born each million years. That’s how rare they became. 

-It was shocking news to the team.

-Optimus questioned how he ended up with a sparkling when he’s not sparkbonded to anyone. 

-Ratchet theorized that the Allspark had something to do with it since it had played a role in his resurrection when he went offline. So, not only did it bring him back to life, it gave him something extra. The Allspark was an artifact of life after all.

-Some of the old text also said that some cybertronians could seek the Allspark for the blessing of a sparkling without a conjux. 

-Optimus did not know what to think of this, or that he unknowingly became a carrier.

-He did feel an invisible bond with you as he looked at you. It was something he couldn’t explain, but didn’t reject. 

-As there wasn’t anything they could do about it now, it was now their responsibility to raise you.

-The first thing they needed to do was to give you a designation. Sari, Bumblebee, and Bulkhead immediately threw out excited suggestions. Ratchet shut them up and said Optimus was the only one who had the right to give you a name. 

-Optimus thought about it and gave you the name (Name).

- Your arrival definitely put a wrench in their usual routine. For example, Optimus had no idea how to raise sparklings. He had to rely on what Ratchet could remember from times before the war and all the records the computer on their ship had on raising sparklings. He read them while feeding you a sparkling appropriate energon formula. 

-There wasn't a lot of text to learn. And he would never message Sentinel for more guidebooks without the latter asking questions. His former friend would definitely make a mockery out of him, and Optimus did not want you exposed to that. 

-So he turned toward human books since Sari said raising human babies was pretty similar to raising sparklings, with some minus pointers from Ratchet. 

-Thankfully, his team was a huge help. 

-Sari and Bulkhead gave you some human kid toys. Sari began treating you like a little sibling. Bulkhead sometimes gave you paper and crayons, and together, you would make drawings.

-Bumblebee was good at entertaining you with silly faces and noises.

-However, one time, the yellow bot thought it would be a good idea to race around with you on board. Optimus gave him one hell of a scolding and banned him from babysitting you alone. 

-With Prowl, you would often nap in his presence and giggle when he tried to play peekaboo with a serious face. 

-So far, Sari, Bulkhead, and Prowl were the most trusted babysitters. 

-Grimlock made it very clear he wanted to be involved. The dinobot now rarely left for his island since you came to be. He was gentle with you, surprisingly, well after Optimus smacked him a few times when he was about to get rowdy. 

-The only downside was that he was convinced that he was the sire.

“Me Grimlock the sire”

“Grimlock no”

“Me Grimlock, yes”

-He didn’t try to steal you, and you liked him, so Optimus mostly allowed it. The dinobot was good protection. However, Optimus would sometimes get pissed at Grimlock with protective anger, which even got his engines revved up, and the dinobot had enough brain processing power to back off. 

“Truck bot, sometimes, scary”

-Ratchet gives you regular health checks. Despite your abnormal birth, you were a healthy sparkling and acted like one when you tried to eat a few of his tools. 

-To anyone's shock, Ratchet would sometimes babytalk to you and act all soft. It was like looking at a different bot. He turned back to his normal grumpy self whenever he looked at them and threw wrenches at them if they dared to make a comment. Bumblebee was the usual target.

-At first, parenting seemed easy. Optimus figured out a routine for when to feed you, put you to bed, and sometimes his team pitched in to babysit.

-But then there were moments when you didn’t agree to follow the routine. Sometimes you didn’t feel hungry, didn’t want to recharge, and even cried for some reason. Optimus wasn’t sure what to do in these times. 

-There was also a moment he wasn’t sure how to balance work and personal life. There was a lot to do when helping Detroit City, patrolling for Decepticons and other human villains, and protecting the Allspark. He had the team babysit you at times, but at the end of the day he would be tired, and you demanded his attention. 

-There would be a few times he tried to schedule everything perfectly. Then forget he had a kid.

-This would end up with Ratchet yelling at him and smacking his helm, reminding him that he was a parent and needed to spend time with you. You had cried for him for a while. 

-Optimus would feel terrible and comfort you. He didn’t know how to raise you while doing his job as an Autobot. 

-Ratchet ordered him to take a break with you and that he didn’t need to shoulder all the responsibility in the world. 

-Optimus would take this to mind, though he would feel some insecurity over it. He thought he had it covered, yet ended up neglecting you. How could he be so foolish? 

-Optimus would think about this at a local park as he sat down nearby while watching you play in a sandbox. He was tired and unsure if he was fit to be your parent. 

-He would end up chatting with a human mother who wheeled a carrier beside the bench near him and let her two other kids play at the sandbox with you. She also seemed to be pregnant with her fourth.

-He would end up sharing about his struggles and doubts with her. The human mother was surprisingly understanding and smiled softly, saying stuff like, "That's just the life of a parent”. 

“I’m not sure if I have the programming to be (Name)’s parent.” He said. 

“No one does.” The woman grinned softly. “You just learn, and when something doesn’t go as planned, you just make it up” 

“But as far as that baby robot is concerned, you’re their papa,” she smiled. 

-You would glance at him and giggle. Strangely, this gives Optimus a little confidence boost. The human mother assures him that every parent goes through the doubting phase. If he’s there for you and wants to be your parent, then he’s already doing fine.

-This boosts him more. Maybe he is up for it. 

-With new energy, he would figure out how to balance work and personal life. Sari said she got him the time to figure it out and had told people that he was on ‘parental leave’. Whatever that meant. 

-He was grateful. And eventually managed to find a good balance. 

-He spends most of the time with you and sometimes leaves you with his available team member when he helps with something minor. Ratchet encouraged some break times for him too to avoid burnout. 

-Your arrival had some positive influence on his team too. They sometimes volunteered to handle the trouble calls, learned to be more responsible, and acted without constantly calling him for guidance. It gave Optimus more time with you and built trust among his team. 

-And Optimus even warmed up to Grimlock babysitting you at times. The dinobot had learned to be more gentle. Though the dinobot was still convinced that he was the sire.

-One time, Optimus dared to have you shown to Sentinel when the latter visited Earth. Sentinel didn't know what you were at first, having never seen a sparkling before. After the explanations, he would laugh at Optimus, and then call you an accident. Optimus would snap at him, to his and the latter's surprise. Optimus could tolerate Sentinel's insults to him, but to you, absolutely not.

-Sensing your carrier's displeasure toward the big-chinned bot, you began frowning at Sentinel whenever he came around.

-You would crawl away when the bot came to the same room, throw a tantrum if he tried to touch you, and even threw your toys at him. It was a surprise, as you were usually a well-behaved sparkling. Bumblebee found it hilarious and encouraged it.

"I just want to talk to you, my spark. I'd really like to know why you are mad at me."

Optimus's words are almost a plea, looking at your frown since you got into your alternate mode. Arms crossed and refusing to talk to him.

You were fine just a few hours ago, but after your training sessions, you had been acting strange.

He doubted he had done anything wrong, but he still wanted to hear the reason for your annoyance.

And this little road trip was perfect for talking.

When you didn't respond, he decided to try another approach, calling your name softly but firmly. "This is not a mature way to act. We should talk like the adults we are so we can resolve our issues."

"You like to show off, that's my problem."

"Oh?"

There was another silence, and Optimus was forced to speak again. "Excuse me, show off?"

"Sure... Of course you don't notice. Always so focused, so serious, untouchable."

"I don't understand what you mean."

"How convenient. You don't know anything, you don't see anything, but I do. But I know you like being there, in the middle, letting all of them look at you. With their stupid little smiles, enjoying the view."

Optimus hesitates for a moment, unsure how to react to this. Your small, beautiful eyes narrow with what he recognizes as anger. "Are you talking about my training?"

His question seems to annoy you even more, but he doesn't regret it because he needs to understand.

"Yes, that! You're always out there, letting them admire you. Bright, strong, wanting to impress. And don't tell me you don't notice how they look at you, because you do."

"I do not, I am not looking for attention. I train to be prepared, not to impress."

"Yeah, yeah, you train." Suddenly, you slam your paddle, half standing up. And he slows down a little more, not wanting an accident to happen. "You want them to see you, to admire you! And you let them see you! You let them see how the hero of the galaxy moves!"

"You are being irrational." Optimus points out calmly, because this is starting to seem more like a tantrum than a real discussion. He's not upset by your accusations, but he's concerned that you really think he could act that way with you around. "You are jealous."

Oh, don't shit, Sherlock.

"You're mine." You growl, tearing at his seats, hurting him.

Hesitating a little, Optimus finally pulls over to the side of the desolate road, transforming without warning. Don't go more than a meter before he pulls you back with a gentleness worthy of a Prime.

"I am yours." He agrees, watching your pretty face tinged with red with anger.

"Liar!" Your screams are weaker when you look him in the face. Stupidly honest.

"I am completely yours, and I do not want to be anyone else's. I do not care if other humans look at me, I do not even notice."

"Then act like it."

"I'm not lying, my love." He's probably being irrational too, giving in to you like this, too soft, too foolish. But seeing you gradually calm down makes him happy. "I'm not interested in soldiers, or scientists, or any other human besides you. Because you have amazed my world since I found you, and I could not compare any other gaze to how you make me feel."

"..." You snort. "You're—"

Before continuing, he gives you a sweet little kiss.

"What am I?"

"You're—"

Once again, he interrupts you with another kiss.

"You're—!"

"What am I?"

Again, he kisses you, but this time you bite him.

"An idiot!! Idiot! Idiot!" You scream, squirming. "Don't try to distract me!"

Optimus sighs. You are really upset, and it does not look like you are going to calm down anytime soon.

But that's not a problem.